BlackBerry maker Research in Motion said Monday that it had fired two executives whose behaviour, allegedly fuelled by alcohol, forced a flight to China to return to Canada for their removal and arrest last week.

''RIM does not condone behaviour that conflicts with applicable laws and employees are expected to act, at all times, with integrity and respect," the company said in a statement.

The two executives, George Campbell and Paul A Wilson, pleaded guilty last week to mischief after an Air Canada flight was forced to turn around near the North Pole and then land in Vancouver, British Columbia. The men were given suspended sentences, placed on probation and each was ordered to pay the airline C$35,878 (£22,990) in restitution by a court in British Columbia.

After allegedly drinking heavily on a Toronto-to-Beijing flight, the two men became hostile and were ultimately restrained with plastic handcuffs by crew members and passengers. Neither of them is allowed to fly on Air Canada during their year of probation.

• The firing was not the only personnel issue involving RIM on Monday. Citing statements from the police, the Jakarta Post reported that the head of RIM's unit in Indonesia is under investigation after a half-price promotion for a new BlackBerry handset led to a near riot that sent several shoppers to hospital last month.

The newspaper said the executive, Andrew Cobham, and three other people may face criminal charges of negligence. RIM declined to offer any information about Cobham, although an online CV for an Indonesian business group that he advises suggests that he is Canadian.

In its statement, RIM said it was co-operating with police and was conducting an internal investigation of the incident, which offered the discounted phones to the first 1,000 buyers.

''We sincerely regret that many loyal customers experienced frustration and upset, and that some individuals suffered injuries," the company said.

RIM's BlackBerry phones are very popular in Indonesia, with about 6 million of the company's 70 million users worldwide.